Who Is Brad Kenneth Bartelt? Arkansas State University Shooting Suspect Identified After Armed Man Causes Lockdown

Police took an armed man into custody at Arkansas State University Thursday. Above, a member of the University of Chicago Police patrols the campus in Chicago, Nov. 30, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Jim Young

UPDATE: 11:25 a.m. EST -- The armed man who drove his truck Thursday onto the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas, before being taken into custody was formally charged Friday morning for his alleged actions. Brad Bartelt will reportedly face charges that include aggravated assault, terroristic threatening and criminal possession of explosives, according to a tweet from local news outlet the Jonesboro Sun.

Brad Bartelt, 47, to be charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threatening and criminal possession of explosives.

Bartelt, 47, caused the school's campus to go into lockdown while the episode was being investigated by university and local law enforcement agencies. He was in possession of a 12-gauge shotgun and canisters of fuel before he was detained, local officials said.

University officials and police said Brad Kenneth Bartelt was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and containers of gasoline and propane when he was taken into custody on the Arkansas State University campus, the Associated Press reported Friday. The 47-year-old resident of Jonesboro, Arkansas, had posted on Facebook he was homicidal before driving onto the campus.

After Bartelt drove his truck onto a plaza near the school’s student union, university officials placed the campus on lockdown Thursday afternoon and ordered students to evacuate the student center. Once police apprehended Bartelt, the university lifted its lockdown for most of the campus, but still canceled final exams set for Thursday afternoon and evening. Campus activities set for Friday were expected to occur and a graduation ceremony scheduled for Saturday was to take place.

Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott told a press conference Thursday Bartelt never pointed his weapons at police officers. “He was pointing the gun at himself. He wanted to do harm to himself,” Elliott said.

Bartelt had previously attended classes at Arkansas State’s Newport campus, 45 miles from the main campus in Jonesboro. A Jonesboro Police Department spokesperson said officers visited Bartelt's home Wednesday after he posted what appeared to be a suicidal note on Facebook, the New York Daily News reported.

“Told multiple professionals and people in State of Arkansas I AM SUICIDAL and now HOMICIDAL, which is what appears they want so problem goes away, thought I would DIE from injures or kill myself by now!!!,” the post said in part.

When police arrived at the university campus Thursday, Elliott said Bartelt was sitting in the truck with his foot out the window, yelling. The chief said he could see the shotgun poking out of the truck and that Bartelt periodically got out of the truck to slosh gasoline on it or hold the shotgun to his chin. Photos on social media showed the truck parked in a deserted area with an American flag flying in the back of the vehicle.

Police investigators interviewed Bartelt intot he evening Thursday to learn more about his motives, the AP reported. Elliott said Bartelt would be screened by mental health professionals and charges were likely.